International Consultancy (Remote-based), Supply Chain Cost-to-Serve Framework, Supply Chain Management Unit (SCMU), Copenhagen, Denmark

The Position:

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. It procures and delivers reproductive health commodities, contraceptives and emergency medical kits through a global supply chain serving country programmes and partners. The Supply Chain Management Unit (SCMU) is strengthening this network through a data-driven operating model that improves visibility, accountability, efficiency and decision-making.
SCMU requires a consistent measure of the end-to-end resources used to deliver a product or service to a defined destination and service level. Costs are currently recorded across multiple financial, procurement, logistics and country-level sources. A standardized Cost-to-Serve (CTS) Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is therefore required to consolidate these costs, explain their drivers and support operational decisions.
The CTS combines: (i) direct transactional costs, calculated as continuously as source data permit; and (ii) enabling costs, applied through transparent standard allocation rates and recalibrated annually. 
This assignment shall not establish a parallel costing basis. It will translate and operationalize the existing SCMU cost pools, activity definitions and allocation logic for CTS purposes. Where refreshed activity-based costing (ABC) outputs are not available in time, the 2024 ABC model will serve as the documented fallback so that the CTS baseline is not dependent on any other ongoing reviews on ABC.
The CTS outputs will provide a shared analytical foundation for operational optimization, annual planning and SCMU Pillar 4’s fee review and 2027 pricing work.

The consultant will report to the Supply Chain Orchestration and Analytics (SCOA) Team Lead under the overall guidance of the Chief, SCMU. SCOA will serve as the designated technical focal point and technical owner of the CTS KPI. SCMU Finance team will co-validate the costing methodology and allocation basis and coordinate the interface with the fee review and 2027 pricing work. The consultant will work closely with relevant SCMU pillars, the Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) team and designated business and data owners. A technical reference group may be established to facilitate data access, validate assumptions and review key outputs.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff who embody these international norms and standards and will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

The UNFPA Supply Chain Management Unit (SCMU) is self-funded and was made operational in January 2022. It is tasked with ensuring that UNFPA is able to effectively and efficiently support the delivery of life-saving reproductive health products and other programme supplies to the end user when and where they are needed. To achieve this, it is important to strengthen the capacity of governments and implementing partners to ensure coordination, end-to-end visibility and accountability on all supply chain and logistics management related activities, in particular for programme supplies, across all UNFPA programmes.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact sustained results, ensuring effective external relations, communications, partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results

Job Purpose:

The specific objectives of the consultancy are:

• To create transparency into the various costs that apply for donors and clients while doing business with UNFPA. This includes doing direct business with SCMU, doing business via the country offices and/or via the established financing mechanisms such as the UNFPA Supplies Partnership Program
• To benefit clients from understanding UNFPA’s service offerings and allow for a more transparent benchmarking of cost of doing business with different actors (public/private) in the reproductive health ecosystem

You would be responsible for:

The consultant will collaborate with relevant stakeholders to execute the following activities and deliver the specified outputs.

1. Description of Services

• As-Is Assessment: Review UNFPA’s global financial and operational systems, including ERP/Quantum, logistics systems and relevant decentralized country-level records, to identify available and fragmented cost data. The assessment will build on SCMU’s 2024 activity-based costing (ABC) assessment, the 2025 staff effort-estimation exercise and the ABC refresh undertaken through Pillar 4.
• Framework Design: Define the boundaries, cost elements, allocation rules and mathematical formulas for a fully loaded CTS KPI. The framework shall distinguish between direct transactional costs and indirect modelled costs and cover relevant international logistics nodes and in-country distribution tiers, from central medical stores to the agreed final destination.
• Data Baseline Creation: Gather, clean and analyse historical financial and logistics data to calculate an initial global CTS baseline and detailed baselines for selected pilot countries representing different geographic, operational and infrastructure contexts, subject to data availability and quality.
• Handover and Capacity Building: Develop user guidance, documentation and an operating process to enable SCMU and designated Country Office focal points to update, interpret and apply the CTS KPI consistently. CTS outputs shall also be handed over in an agreed format to support Pillar 4’s fee review and 2027 pricing work without duplicating that consultancy’s mandate.

2. Key Activities

• Conduct stakeholder consultations across procurement, logistics, finance, SCOA, other SCMU pillars, regional offices and selected country offices.
• Map end-to-end supply-chain activities and cost elements, including procurement and order management, international freight, customs clearance and demurrage, domestic port-to-warehouse transport, warehousing, last-mile distribution and other associated costs.
• Develop a shared cost taxonomy and data-source registry identifying each cost element, definition, source system, owner, refresh frequency and allocation rule, jointly validated with SCOA, Pillar 4 Finance and relevant business owners.
• Allocate staff effort, overhead, IT and other indirect costs using the cost pools, activity definitions and allocation logic of the existing ABC model and the 2025 staff effort-estimation results. No new staff-effort survey shall be undertaken without prior written agreement from SCMU.
• Build a transparent, fully editable prototype calculation model in a tool agreed with UNFPA. The model shall support sensitivity and scenario analysis and separately display direct actual costs and indirect modelled costs.
• Establish the process for routine updates of direct costs and annual recalibration of indirect-cost allocation rates.
• For every reported CTS result, disclose cost coverage, missing or proxy cost elements, actual versus estimated or allocated components, confidence level and the calibration year of indirect rates. A result may only be labelled “fully loaded” when all mandatory cost categories are included or transparently estimated
• Validate the methodology, model and baseline results with SCMU leadership, Pillar 4 Finance and relevant business owners.

3. Expected Outputs

• Output 1: Inception Report outlining the agreed scope, methodology, data requirements, stakeholder mapping, work plan and interface with Pillar 4’s fee and pricing work.
• Output 2: Comprehensive CTS Methodology Document, including the fully loaded KPI definition, cost taxonomy, data-source registry, formulas, allocation rules, data-quality requirements and annual recalibration methodology.
• Output 3: Functional and fully editable CTS Baseline Model populated with available historical data, including sensitivity and scenario functionality, together with a Final Baseline Report presenting the global and selected-country results, cost drivers, assumptions, limitations and confidence levels.
• Output 4: Standard Operating Procedure, user guidance and standard presentation deck for internal capacity building, routine updates, annual recalibration and handover to Pillar 4.
• Output 5: In coordination with the Supply Chain Orchestration and Analytics (SCOA) team, develop a validated prototype dashboard and an implementation-ready functional and technical blueprint for integrating the CTS KPI into the SCMU Control Tower

Duration:

Up to 40 working days over eight consecutive weeks, commencing upon contract signature.

Place where services are to be delivered:
Home-based, with virtual consultations and remote access to documentation and data. In-person consultations at SCMU, Copenhagen, may be required subject to prior written authorization.

Expected travel:

One mission to Copenhagen of up to five working days may be required. Any travel will be subject to prior written authorization and managed in accordance with applicable UNFPA travel rules. Authorized travel costs will be handled separately from the consultancy fee.

Qualifications and Experience

Education:  

• Advanced university degree in finance, economics, business administration, supply chain management, data analytics, information systems, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field.
• A first-level university degree combined with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. 

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive professional experience in supply chain analytics, logistics finance, or management consulting.
• Proven experience mapping and analyzing development or humanitarian supply chains in emerging markets, specifically focusing on sub-national transport, warehousing, and last-mile distribution networks. 
• Demonstrated experience handling large, fragmented datasets and building financial/logistical models.
• Prior experience working with UN agencies, international NGOs, or public health supply chains is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with major ERP systems (e.g., Oracle Cloud/Quantum, SAP) and business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).

Languages: 

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required

Required Competencies

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system
• Embracing cultural diversity
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results
• Being accountable
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen
• Thinking analytically and strategically
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships

Functional Competencies:

• Analytical Skills: Ability to synthesize complex financial and operational data into clear, actionable strategic insights.
• Communication: Strong technical writing and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex financial concepts to non-financial audiences.
• Project Management: Proven ability to meet strict deadlines and manage project deliverables independently.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.